Forgotten Realms
History Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles was a cataclysmic time period in the history of the Faerûn. Taking place during 1358 DR, the Year of Shadows, the Time of Troubles was a period during which the deities of Faerûn were forced to walk the earth in their mortal avatar forms. Several major deities died during the Time of Troubles (see deaths, ascensions, and resurrections) and a handful of mortals rose to divinity. Present day The interpretation of the term "present day" in the Forgotten Realms depends entirely upon the context in which it is used. Dungeon Masters are free to use the first edition, second edition, third edition or fourth edition sourcebooks to form a setting for their games of D&D. Alternatively, they may set their games at any point during the Realms' past or future. The novels set in the Realms cover a wide variety of time periods too. This wiki does not focus on one specific time as being the "present day" - instead, it endeavours to provide specific date references where possible. Geography The planet of Abeir-Toril consists of several large continents, including Faerûn, the focus of the setting, which was first detailed in the original Forgotten Realms Campaign Set, published in 1987 by TSR. The other continents include Kara-Tur, Zakhara, Maztica, Anchorome, and other as-yet unspecified landmasses. Kara-Tur, roughly corresponding to ancient East Asia, was later the focus of its own publication, Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms, released in 1988. Various products detailing specific areas of Faerûn have been released, and much of the continent has been heavily detailed and documented to create a highly developed setting. See the sourcebooks portal for an extensive list of products. In early publications about the setting, The Realms shared a unified cosmology with various other campaign settings. In this way each of the Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings were linked together to form one interwoven world connected by various planes of existence. With the release of the 2001 Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, the setting was given its own distinct and separate cosmological arrangement, with unique planes not explicitly connected to those of the other settings. Realmspace The Forgotten Realms world of Abeir-Toril is but one of several other worlds in the Realmspace crystal sphere. To the natives of Faerûn, the wildspace above their heads is known as the Sea of Night. The two closest worlds to the sun in the middle of Realmspace are known as the Dawn Heralds, and they are barely visible only at sunset or sunrise. Beyond Abeir-Toril further out in the crystal sphere are the Five Wanderers, five worlds which flow through star-rivers in an uneven course through wildspace. Some of these worlds are inhabited by humans, dwarves, and orcs, but also more sinister races such as illithids and beholders. Wildspace Wildspace is what comes to mind when we talk of "space." It is the vast emptiness that lies between the planets and the stars. All the celestial bodies within a crystal shell float in the airless void called wildspace. Conventional (meaning "those that take place on the prime material plane") interplanetary journeys around a solar system take place within wildspace. It is mostly vacuum. (More correctly, most regions of wildspace are vacuum. But the cosmos is a big place and there are exceptions to almost every rule, as shall be shown later.) Wildspace is not truly a void, however, even though it is often referred to that way. The simple fact that there is "space" rules out its being a true void. Planes * Astral Sea * Shadowfell * The Abyss Calendar The Calendar of Harptos was the calendar used across most of Faerûn. It was created by the wizard Harptos of Kaalinth, although most people associate the word "Harptos" with the calendar. It was split into twelve months, each lasting three tendays (or thirty days). There were an additional five days that fell between months, bringing the total number of days in most years to 365. * Hammer ("Deepwinter") ** Midwinter between Hammer 30 and Alturiak 1 * Alturiak ("The Claw of Winter" or "The Claws of the Cold") * Ches ("The Claw of Sunsets") 1 ** Spring Equinox on Ches 19 * Tarsakh ("The Claw of the Storms") ** Greengrass between Tarsakh 30 and Mirtul 1 * Mirtul ("The Melting") * Kythorn ("The Time of Flowers") ** Summer Solstice on Kythorn 20 * Flamerule ("Summertide") ** Midsummer between Flamerule 30 and Eleasias 1 ** Shieldmeet occurs the day after Midsummer, once every four years * Eleasis ("Highsun") * Eleint ("The Fading") ** Autumn Equinox on Eleint 21 ** Highharvestide between Eleint 30 and Marpenoth 1 * Marpenoth ("Leafall") * Uktar ("The Rotting") ** Feast of the Moon between Uktar 30 and Nightal 1 * Nightal ("The Drawing Down") ** Winter Solstice on Nightal 20 Factions There are five main factions throughout the entirety of the Forgotten Realms setting. Each faction has its own goals and aims to accomplish. * The Harpers * The Order of the Guantlet * Emerald Enclave * The Lord's Alliance * The Zhentarim Modules * Lost Mines of Phandelver